Malaysia January 2013

Welcome to my whistle stop tour of Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi.

KUALA LUMPUR

Arrival in KL was very easy.  We took the KL Express from the airport to the city centre (about 30 minutes) and there was free WIFI on board. There were numerous cafes in KL Sentral Station with lots of breakfast bargains to be had, but sadly none open for dinner!

We explored China Town and its narrow alleyways – thought I could smell blocked drains, it turned out to be Durian fruit (the guide book describes the taste as vomit flavoured custard!)  Lots of amazing foodie stalls, but I was rather put off by the sighting of a rat running past my feet.

We went to Central market, which is an air conditioned (welcome relief from the heat) indoor market and much less frenetic than China Town and consequently not so atmospheric, although they did do superb fresh papaya juice.

KL isn’t the easiest city to explore on foot because of all the major roads, rail/mono rail lines that crisscross the city.  Rail travel is very cheap.  We did manage to walk from the Petronas Towers to the mono railway station Raja Chulan.  On the way we stopped off at a Hawkers food stall and had a delicious vegetarian lunch for about £1.  You choose your food from the different stalls then find a seat at trestle tables.  Someone comes to take your drinks order – we had warm lime juice.  We sat with a business-woman who was on her lunch break.  She told us that she was a Hindu and is vegetarian on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays because of her religion. It was fascinating talking to her and she gave us lots of advice on where to go in the city.  We didn’t go up the Petronas Towers, but instead walked in the surrounding park, which was lovely.   We ended the day with a very tasty veggie curry at Gem in the Indian quarter (near KL Sentral Station).    Loved the no squatting signs in the ladies loo on Sentral Station – wish I had taken a photo!

PENANG

The next day we took the train to Penang – the journey took about 7 hours to Butterworth, then it was a short ferry ride to the island of Penang.  I could see enormous jelly fish swimming in the water.  The day before, we had booked a room at Traders Hotel in George Town for three nights so knew where we were heading.  I loved George Town.  We visited the Hainan Temple – my first Chinese Temple.  We had a look around the Penang art gallery where we were the only visitors.  We saw some beautiful pictures and some lovely examples of Batik artwork.  We then went for a tour around The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion.  The tour guide was great and we learnt about Feng Shui amongst other things, which was interesting.  We found our equivalent of street food heaven and sampled amazing Malaysian food.


We wandered around Little India and China Town (where I found a great bead shop) soaking up the atmosphere.  Stopped at a pristine bakery in the middle of China Town where we feasted on croissants and pain au chocolate, just as good as any French ones I’ve tasted.  The next day we thought we’d be more energetic and take the Funicular railway from Penang Hill and go for a hike.  Unfortunately the Funicular railway was closed for maintenance so instead we wandered around the botanical gardens.  The humidity was so intense it was like being in a steam room.  I had a close encounter with a baby monkey that was getting ready to leap on my head so that was the end of my photography session with the monkeys!    In the afternoon we explored the Chinese Jetties and ate some spicy prawn noodles at a hawker stall.      

LANGKAWI

We weren’t sure how we were going to feel about Langkawi after the delights of Penang.  We took the ferry from Swettenham Pier in George Town, luckily the sea was calm as I am not a good sailor and the trip was about 3 hours.  The ferries arrive at Kuah Jetty and from there it was a 20 minute taxi ride to our hotel.   We stayed at the Frangipani, which was a pleasant place to stay away from all the hustle and bustle.  There wasn’t much to do apart from chill, which was nice.  The Frangipani is located on a quiet stretch of coast.  Nearby is the fabulous Sheela’s restaurant, which specialises in traditional Malay dishes.  We went there for three out of the four nights of our stay and the food was superb and the location, in her garden, was great.  The nearby La Chocolatine did great coffee and Croissants.  Mind you, breakfast at the Frangipani was incredible – fresh papaya, mango, watermelon, pineapple, cereal, spring rolls with chilli (yes for breakfast), freshly made omelettes – we could have stayed there eating all day!  Each day we would wander up the beach to Cenang Beach resort.  There were warnings all along the beach of sightings of jellyfish so I would only take a quick dip in the sea.  

From Langkawi we took a very inexpensive flight back to KL with Air Asia.    On our last night in KL we went up the Menara Tower and watched the city lighting up as darkness fell.  We ate in a swanky Malaysian restaurant called Enka, delicious.

We loved Malaysia – an eclectic mix of different cultures and religions, friendly people, tasty food and reasonable prices. 

Next stop Australia……………………….!